Press Release for PRESSED ON PAPER: FISH RUBBINGS AND NATURE PRINTS

The renewed interest by American artists in the ancient art of nature printing is celebrated in an exhibit opening at (venue location) on (start date). The exhibit continues through (end date).

Nature prints are produced by applying ink or pigment to a plant, leaf, fish, shell, rock or other natural history object and then placing a piece of paper over the object and rubbing the paper. The result is a striking image that simply and precisely captures the subtle and graceful beauty of nature.

The 55 works on view, representing 26 printmakers from the United States and Canada, was organized by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Nature Printing Society. It is the largest and most comprehensive selection of nature prints by American artists ever assembled. The exhibit is being circulated throughout the United States under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).

Impressions of plants and fishes have been produced for centuries in all parts of the world. Plant printing flourished in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries when the method was used to illustrate herbals and other books on plant life. The techniques of fish printing, or gyotaku, were developed in the Orient in the early 1800s as a means of recording a fisherman's catch.

With the invention of the halftone process and the advent of photographs, many nature printing techniques were lost and forgotten. But in recent years, techniques have been discovered and refined into a highly sophisticated and unique American art form.

SITES is a program activity of the Smithsonian Institution that organizes and circulates exhibitions on art, history, and science to institutions in the United States and abroad. For further information, please contact: SITES (202) 357-3168.